Kemptons Restaurant in East Cambridgeshire

Called in here today with my husband around 2pm for lunch,sat at a table that had bits of food on it and dirty plates so got up and moved to a clean table as two had dirty pots on them,read on the menu you had to take note of your table number and go in the next room to order your food,a lady was serving customers at the counter it was a take away too,I asked for two vegetable soups,the lady said I think there is only one left,I will check,she checked with the kitchen who told her there was enough for two people,so I as pleased and ordered granary bread to come with it and our drinks,our drinks came with no spoons,so I got up to the cutlery tray and got them.A couple had come in and sat at the dirty table,they blew the crumbs off,it was still dirty,we waited a good 20 minutes for our soup,a young waitress brought it out to us,with the bread,no knife to spread the butter,so I got up again and went to the cutlery tray to get two,there wasn't any,I had to go into the other room to ask for some,I sat down,saw about a third of a bowl full of beige water with bits of green floating on the top,my husband was drinking his,it was like water,I tasted on spoonful and stood up with it and took it back,I told the lady on the counter I was not eating that it was dish water,I put the spoon in and showed her how it ran straight off,she asked if I wanted something else or a refund,I asked for a refund,went and sat down and ate my bread and cup of tea,the waitress had taken the dirty tables order and asked them if they wanted the pots clearing away,the customer's face was a picture,we finished our drinks,went back to the counter and was apologised to and was refunded the soup money,never been to Ely before won't put me off this town,but will not return to that cafe.

Glad we went in before seeing the very poor reviews - found it reasonably priced and food came quite quickly - good portion sizes. Yes not brilliant decor but fine for a quick lunch break.

The place looked like it had just been painted clean and tidy. Table are a bit off putting as they have been cleaned too well removing most of the finish. I guess new owners as no table service only one person seam to be doing the whole service. As not busy served quickly at the counter. We ordered a fruit and cheese scone with a cuppa. The lady advised us to have the cream tea option as cheaper nice of her. The scone were one of the best I have had moist fruit and full of cheese. (If you previous reviews I am fussy about scones) she said made by then nice cuppa too.

Went for family lunch, can say it's the worst food I've ever been served, over priced for what it was, you would not think cafe could muck up sausage and bacon sandwiches. Cheap and nasty bread the bacon was fatty and it and the sausages were cold, sent it back and next lot was slightly warmer but still vile. None of us ate it, staff could not care less. Don't bother. Terrible place

Ordered a kids breakfast for my daughter which was supposed to come with toast, when the breakfast arrived there was no toast so I asked if we could get some and when it eventually came it was burnt to an almost black colour!!! My egg mayo sandwich tasted more like vinegar - yuk!! And the strawberry milkshake was pretty tasteless. Won't be going back.Very disappointing especially as it was a treat for my daughter.

We fancied a nice cafe lunch and found this just off the market square. Biggest regret. The place was filthy, unhygienic and also very dated inside. The staff were all very young and inexperienced. Ordering food was not simple and the price incorrect and took a long time for the young girl to do. When the food did come it was incorrect. We overheard 2 other tables complain about their wait for food, the time it took to order and again being over charged. Warning... Avoid the coleslaw, it smelt like it was off!

It was sunny so we sat outside and ordered 1 tuna and cheese toasted panini and 2 sparkling waters she tried to charge us ,£13!! We've found it interesting that other reviews also say an attempt was also made to overcharge. Tables were filthy and witnessed a young male assistant using a knife to push residue off the table next to us with a knife. No wiping of table. The glasses were filthy so we drank out of the bottles. 40 minutes later the food had not arrived. I to my horror noticed no food hygiene sticker displayed so went on the Web. This place has a 0 food hygiene rating!! How has it not been shut down. Ended up asking for a refund so glad I didn't get the food!!! Shocking.

Popped in for a mid morning breakfast,seemed like the place was run by "kids",they eventually approached us to say we had to go to the counter to order,which we did.We ordered 3 fruit juices and 3 breakfasts,pretty simple you might think but alas when the drinks came there were only 2,when we queried this we were told they had only taken for 2,so easy done (we got what we had ordered) .Next 2 breakfast appeared,which we queried again,this time the response was "we forgot" .I received my breakfast after the other 2 breakfasts had been eaten,great timing. To be fair the food was ok and priced accordingly but there were several tables that needed clearing and we saw several people sit down outside and after a few minutes get up and leave because nobody had been to see them. Advice,get someone over the age of 15 in to run the place properly or close down now.

I was in Ely looking for a quick, light bite. It was about 2pm and there were plenty of empty tables in Kemptons. I ordered a tuna and cheese panini and a pot of tea. The service was poor - I expected to have the tea delivered while my panini was prepared. After about 15mins, one of the staff spotted that I was still waiting and my panini arrived soon after, followed by the tea. Service was slow and the food was distinctly average. Also £7.75 for a smallish filled panini and a pot of tea is rather expensive in my view. I can not recommend anything other than avoiding this establishment, unless you want to leave disappointed!

My husband and I went into Kempstons for some lunch today but we soon wish we hadn’t! The waiting staff were all youngsters, 3 young lads and a young girl. They all seemed pleasant enough but the boys, in particular, were useless. They had no idea which tables they were supposed to be taking the food to, they got orders wrong and they gave us a dirty glass and dirty cutlery. There was nothing particularly wrong with our paninis but they were poorly presented with a tiny amount of salad garnish and with ham hanging out of my panini. The food was inexpensive but I definitely wouldn’t recommend Kemptons to anyone and we will not be returning.

Very slow poor service followed by substandard food. There are much better alternatives . The hot chocolate was bland and the flapjack was like cardboard

We arrived on a cold quiet Saturday afternoon for food & a drink. From the outside it looked clean & presentable, there where a few empty tables which is usually a good sign. We sat at a table that had clearly been made by the same company that makes the tardis, looks different from a distance. Too close & the staff kept brushing past as they served. I ordered an afternoon tea & Helen had a toasted tea cake, it took 25 minutes to arrive & the scone wasn't warm I didn't get any butter, cream or jam. I took it back & then it disappeared.. to finally come back from the kitchen correct. No table service, badly signed how & where to order as you go through a tunnel to Narnia to the counter. Overpriced, young staff without an adult in site. I heard apology after apology from the young girl to other customers for late service. Badly managed, poorly run & I won't return.

I’ll keep this review real short, since we didn’t get past the point of sitting down. Absence of service: staff too busy hoovering at the back. We were clearly heard walking in but no greeting. Tables and menu dirty despite no customers. Toilets disgusting and no sink : you have to use the main bathroom to wash your hands, in what looks like someone’s house. After 5 minutes, we decided to not bother ordering and walked out. They didn’t chase after us, clearly not needing the custom... I don’t give this place another 3 months before it closes down. Pity, as I always support local, independent businesses over chains, but the Greene King pub around the corner was a much better experience after this. Avoid.

The food was ok but less than we expected. We ordered a sausage and onion baguette and a bacon and egg sandwich. What we got was a reheated sausage and raw onion baguette and a ham and sliced hard boiled egg sandwich. When they claim to do an all day breakfast we expected what we’d ordered to have all been freshly cooked sadly was not the case. As we were both starving and only had half an hour left on our car park we had very little choice other than eat it and go If we do come back to visit the area we would be choosing another place for our lunch

Popped into Ely to finish Christmas shopping thought we'd have lunch. Ordered 2 jacket potato with cheese. Cutlery on the table was stained and dirty. Lunch initially looked nice..turned the plate round to see green/grey mould on my salad especially the tomatoes. Would definitely not recommend that you step foot in the place.

Four of us ate here on a Saturday lunchtime. We had filled jacket potatoes. They were big potatoes, loads of filling and a nice side salad - which included grapes. Coffee was fine too. Staff were efficient and professional.

Kemptons Restaurant is well located in the centre of Ely, good for the Market (on Market Days), shopping and visiting the Cathedral. It's popularity must come from disappointed people from the Armoury, near the Cathedral. That is how I discovered this little gem of a place, where good honest food is prepared and served. I would recommend this Restaurant to anyone visiting Ely.

Went to this place for breakfast this morning, how they can make it all so badly when I'm the only person in there. Ordered a mega breakfast turned up after quite a wait. Toast was not warm enough to melt the butter sausages were cold and probably cooked yesterday, bacon dry and cold, eggs cold and rubbery then I tried the beans.....they were warm bordering on the hot. Something is fundamentally wrong here. I wish I had read the other bad reviews would have saved over £12.

Ignored the bad reviews and popped in for the all day breakfast and a mug of tea. Food was served quickly and freshly cooked. All in all very good.

Where do I start.. kitchen flooded and therefore was told couldn't order hot food ordered a sandwich but still refused ?....scones received frozen in the middle teacakes the poorest and cheapest I've ever had. Stroppy waitress when we chased our order ...need I go on!! Avoid like the plague

We ordered the all-day breakfast, which arrived reasonably quickly but without toast. We assumed the toast would follow, but after...

Teníamos un panini y huevo sándwiches, que venía con ensaladas. Es un poco básico, pero estaba bien, el café estaba bien.

Yo realmente no estoy seguro de qué escribir

We had 3 coffee, of different types. There was very little coffee to taste in all of them. I have used this place twice. So it's not a one off. Had to pay for the drinks before we had drank them in their restaurant. Will not use it again.

Service was disgraceful. The place is filthy and the food was disgusting. Gave one star because none isn't an option​. Waited 20 minutes for 2 bowls of chicken soup and must have been misheard as we got 2 bowls of gloop.

Firstly they do take note of some elements of T A reviews. Each table now clearly states " Please place your order though the archway". What they need to do to get off the bottom of Ely's list is to decide whether they are a café or an outlet for takeaway rolls and sandwiches. If I want a panini to take back o the office, I pay for it, wait for it and then leave. If I'm in a café/restaurant I order, wait for it, eat and then pay and leave. I do not expect to pay as I order, but because of the layout- effectively two separate rooms, they must be afraid people will nip out without paying. That said, the scampi and chips was 'OK' and the brie and cranberry panini well stocked. Understaffed- yes possibly. {Elf and safety might like to take a look at the toilet-- the pan seems to have minimum connection to the floor}

No welcome. Long wait for service before being told we were in the wrong room and should order in the Shop part ...which isn't obvious from entering from the other door. No customer staff rapport. Staff like robots and quite indifferent. Food very basic and service just about adequate.They were not too busy but seemed poorly organised. They have a good prominent position and i suppose are busy with one off visitors...but i bet regular customers are few or indifferent. Prices are cheap so ghat may attract some people to return. We won't. Shame.

Four of us went to this small restaurant. Two had afternoon tea which was excellent, beautiful homemade cake. Two had scones and teacake which were excellent with fresh coffee. Place was very full which and there were teenagers serving who were very pleasant but inexperienced but we felt it was good value for money and what you see if what you get.

We enjoyed the Tea for Two offer with good freshly made sandwiches and wonderfully tasty cakes that accompanied a hot pot of tea.

Went today,the place was busy with customers,and you could see it was understaffed, people waiting a long time for food and some tables still had dirty pots on them from previous customers, the waitress would walk past them several times without noticing, eventually they would be cleared when the customer asked them to. there seemed only one person working in the downstairs area which was not sufficient. You need to order your food at the till, i was the only one ordering at the time and the waitress asked me to wait whilst she served 3 drinks orders., I had to wait 10 minutes at the counter before she took my order. We ordered soup, which took about 20 minutes to arrive. The soup tasted fine but it was in a very small bowl and didn't feel it was sufficient for an adult portion. 6 spoonfuls and it was gone. Will not recommend.

Food cold sent back, waitress made no comment Cold again only a jacket potatoe no apology dreadful food and waitresses like zombies Went in as a Sunday and the usual cafes were shut and there was empty tables, warning ... I will never go back...seeing the other reviews now , why are they still trading?

I had a mega breakfast last Friday, my wife had a breakfast. An English Breakfast is one of my most favourite meals. I use my own scoring system based upon an a max score of 11 for a good Little Chef Olympic Breakfast (lcob). The breakfast here scores a 7 lcob on my scoring system and if only the toast had been just given a longer glimpse of the 1kw electric fire used from a distance of 6 metres then it would have been a score of 8

We had breakfast here, a full English, well cooked, good choice on the menu, you have to order at the counter. Location is convenient and the wait was short. There are outside seats, windows over the street are large and the staff were accommodating. The older lady next to us wanted a sausage roll, chips, salad and gravy, which at half past ten in the morning might seem slightly early but she got exactly what she wanted.

I have never had such an awful breakfast, cheap ingredients, cooked badly! Totally recommend to not use this cafe.

Went for a quick bite at lunchtime and my mother and I ordered just sandwiches! Not only were we ignored as we entered we were also not served before customers who arrived after we had. When we finally we asked the waitresses we unfriendly and uninterested. The cafe was dirty with sticky tables and the cutlery wasn't too special either! The waitress was more interested in a couple who they obviously knew and messed about with them more than serving other customers. Customers who sat outside with their dogs also were ignored and had to keep coming inside for service. The toilet facilities were very poor also worse than the public toilets! I will never set foot in this cafe again or recommend it to anyone. Truly dreadful.

Having ordered an all day breakfast, we waited for over half an hour before receiving the food! During which, other people who came in 10 minutes behind us were already eating theirs! And with no apology, when the food turned up! Not really the best service, and dirty throughout! And staff not really customer friendly! Will not be eating here again!!

My sister and I, together with my Father visited here for a quick lunch last week. Chairs were dirty, there was food matter squashed into the floor. My soup spoon, had dried food matter on it, and the waitress was chewing gum throughout. All this was before we even got to the food itself!We did not have much time so ordered simple soup and a roll, thinking that it would not take too long. My sister who is gluten free asked if the soup was suitable, the waitress went to ask, and brought a large container of what appeared to be a dried bouillon mix, which they used, for my sister to check. It was suitable, we thought at least that we would then get some lovely fresh vegetables either chopped or blitzed into the liquid. How wrong we were. Out came three bowls of grey looking sludge, containing what I can only describe as grains of what I assume were vegetables, but as the only taste was of water it is difficult to be sure. All three of us forced some down as we needed to eat something, fortunately the large soft roll was reasonable edible.I can safely say that this was the worst soup that I have ever tasted. I cannot believe that someone in the kitchens let that go out without tasting to see if there was any semblance of flavour in it.The following day my Father suffered withstomach pains which he quite possibly connected to the food consumed.We did complain to the lady at the till when paying. She apologised to us, but we did notice that the waitress was continuing to chew gum as we left.We will not be returning!

My husband and I visited this restaurant when we were in Ely for the day. I had misgivings about the place as soon as we sat down as the tables were messy and there seemed to be a lot of people sitting waiting to be served. We almost left.... and I wish we had, as when eventually a young waitress arrived she was totally lacking in customer care skills. We did get what we ordered, without knives to butter our teacakes or any napkins. Fortunately for us there were two knives (and forks) with napkins left on the other side of the table from a previous setting. The teacakes were barely warm but the drinks were okay. When I came to pay, the order had been wrongly entered into the till and when the older assistant pointed this out, the younger waitress snapped back at her. Not a good impression and we would never want to visit here again.

were do i start, service was very very slow. i witnessed staff far more interested in having gorup chats amoungst themselves rather than serving waiting customers. our table still had a couple of items left over from previous customers, the salt and pepper posts were so disgustingly dirty i didnt dare touch them and ordered clean replacements, which again took an age to arrive and werent all that clean when they did. whilst waiting some more i saw a couple of different members of staff sorting and laying out cutlery they didnt use the handles, but picked it up by the end that goes in your food, ok thats not major but hardly good hygene, i then watched staff clean tables by wiping around whatever was on the table, seeing as they are so slow you would expect then to at least clean the whole table not just bits of it. one meal was mediocre, the other was described as being served with salad, it certainly wasnt a salad, salad garnish maybe. one of our drinks turned up with a flithy glass. the customer one side of us was served a scone which was so stale it was rock hard and made a knocking noise when tapped on the table! the customer the other side was served a hot sausage roll with pasty burnt to a blackned crisp, although it was all soft , so clearly it had been over cooked in an oven allowed to cool and been microwaved to make it hot again, i couldnt believe me eyes when i saw them serve something so burnt, the customer sent it back and after a while received a better (but not great) replacement. it is unbeleivable that anyone could of thought the first was fit to serve to a paying customer. when we paid i once again saw staff only interested in chatting with each other, whilst customers waited, one then was heard to say "wish me luck" as she went to serve a table, why would she say that unless she knew how bad the place is? To sum up, its a budget place to eat, but way below standard for even a cheap eat, its not even that cheap

Whilst visiting Ely my friend and I went to this restaurant where we had tea and scones for two. This we felt was value for money. The problem was, we had a long wait for service even though there was only a few customers in the place. I believe that there could be some lack of direction maybe from the management.

Do not eat here!,! Visited here as it was pouring with rain and was desperate . Rude waitress who could not be bothered as in " am I bothered" Catherine Tate . No hot or cold food available even though sign outside stating this. Charged us too much on the bill. So angry, I challenged her to give me some refund! Go to peacocks as so much better.

We just called in for tea and coffee, it took a while before our order was taken but an even greater wait before the drinks arrived. The wait gave us time to see how dirty the place was too. Lots of cobwebs and dust. Would definitely avoid in the future.

Decided to have breakfast in town with my Dad and Kemptons was reasonable empty - ordered two breakfasts and a pot of tea for two. We waited over 20 minutes for food at a time when there were only three other tables occupied. Other customers complained about the wait for their food and were told that they were in the middle of the breakfast "rush". We finally got our food, and while the breakfasts were edible, none of it was really hot and was actually quite overpriced for what was there. While we were eating, someone came down from upstairs and said they had been waiting almost 40 minutes after ordering their food and were treated very rudely by a lady who seemed to be in charge. Turns out they'd been forgotten about. All in all neither of us were very impressed and will never go back again. I felt bad for one of the young waitresses who took our order who seemed quite embarrassed and exasperated by the whole thing. Wish I'd checked reviews before going as other people seem to have similar experiences. Very disappointing.

We are a group of 5 friends and family who met in Ely to have brunch. The service was excellent - very quick and attentive waitresses. All 5 of us ordered a mega breakfast and were swiftly served with our meals. The food was superb - cooked to perfection with no negative comments from our group. We sat upstairs in the restaurant and had a lovely time chatting & catching up before we all went our separate ways. A perfect Sunday morning.

Everywhere in Ely was busy today, but there were empty tables here. We soon found out why. The waitress brought my wifes panini but completely forgot my toasted teacake. It appeared after we'd reminded her again. The menu mentioned butter on the teacake but it was supplied with margarine. Yuk. A place to avoid.

Visited Kemptons today and wasted 20 minutes of my life. Service was the worst I've ever experienced. Never actually managed to order anything even when the waitress asked if we had ordered and said I'll be back never to be seen again. Eventually gave up and left. The place also needs a good clean, as it smells very Uninviting upstairs,and the cake fridge sounds like an old tractor. Will not be returning.

A solitary older lady serving in the restaurant seemed a little grumpy with life and customers alike, but our two cooked meals came more quickly than I was expecting given how full it was. Try the occasional smile, and people might like to come back! Good value.

Went here with my parents and it was a nightmare! Service was so slow that we decided to get our money back after 40 minutes of waiting. The espresso that did come was cold as well. Avoid!

Don't know why this place is still in business. Poor menu. Bad service and atrocious food! Everything we ordered was stale, tasteless and in edible! AVOID!

We visited on a Sunday afternoon and waited almost an hour for our food, we preffered lasagne and chips and a jacket potato, after half an hour of waiting they told us they'd run out of jackets, so my boyfriend had lasagne instead. We waited almost half an hour more before it finally came and it was made from very cheap mince so was only ok. Three other couples came in after us and ate before us!

Ordered 2 toasted sandwiches and 2 teas. While waiting the 20 minutes (it wasn't exactly busy) we noticed a disgusting smell. Tables were dirty and so were the cups. We washed the cups in the hot water jug that was presented with our teapot (obviously provided for this purpose). The food arrived very badly presented which we tried very bravely to eat but just couldn't stomach it. We paid our £12.90 and left just as another family walked in. They walked out straight away complaining of an obnoxious smell. We told them they had a lucky escape. It has put us off visiting Ely. We both still have a foul taste in our mouths from the small amount of food that we ate 5 hours ago.

What a misery. Looked lovely from the outside. Should have walked away before we even sat down. Waiter cleaned table but somehow manged to erm, miss the table. I ended up cleaning it myself. Two waiters were v v young but pleasant, another seemed miffed to be working on a Saturday. Can of coke was dirty, so I had to decant it in to a v dirty glass (I cleaned it first). My baguette was stale..I could have forced myself to eat it but the long (not one of my) hairs stuck to the bottom proved too much to work past. Even the waiter agreed that was gross. Kids had a basic toastie, which they ate. Husband ordered a breakfast. His comment was, that it was "fine" but they've probably used the cheapest of the cheapest products they could get away with. Unfortunately places like this seem to get away with it year on year so I'm sure it'll be going strong 10 years from now.I told them I wouldn't be paying for my baguette. No arguments from them....but no apology either. Nip to Greggs...you won't regret it.

Went fot breakfast it wasn't particularly busy but unfortunately the sausages were cold and the rest wasnt very hot. Staff could tell we weren't overly pleased but didn't ask if everything was ok. We decided we wouldn't be going back

I visited this Cafe today with my 4 friends and fiancé. We were informed that we could sit upstairs as the main dining area on the ground floor was quite busy.Our first impressions were to, unfortunately set the tone for the remainder of the experience. We noticed a very unappealing smell in the air which reminded my one friend of chewed buffalo horn. The service was slow and it was at least 10 minutes before we made our first order. The waitress was polite but came across as inexperienced and her knowledge of the menu was lacking. One friend wanted to order an IPA and ended up with a can of Fosters, overpriced. The area in which we were seated housed a standalone refrigerator which was incredibly noisy and quite irritating when trying to converse as a group. Our food was brought up to us, not at the same time but staggered which displeased us and our overall opinion of the food was low. Some of the food items were ill prepared and it was apparent that the chefs had rushed, or showed no care or attention to the preparation which are not aspiring attributes to anyone in the catering industry. We paid the full amount but left unhappy and felt regrettable.

I have eaten here many times. The shop is ideally placed in the market place in Ely and has both indoor and outdoor seating. The cakes and pastries are excellent but what lets the place down is the service. If you go here be prepared for a long wait before you get to attract anyone's attention so that you can order, although you don't usually have too long to wait for the food to come.We went yesterday after approx 10 minute wait we ordered:A cheese and Coleslaw sandwichA egg and bacon sandwich with sliced eggA cheese scone A Fruit sconeWhat we got was:A cheese and Coleslaw sandwichA egg and bacon sandwich with fried eggA cherry scone A Fruit sconeIt took quite some time to attract the waitresses attention to ask for knives to spread jam and cream on the scones. We weren't offered napkins, the table had been cleared before we arrived but needed to be wiped and the floor around the table was covered in dropped food. We visited mid-afternoon and it had clearly been a busy day.As I said the quality of the food really is good but unfortunately the service leaves a lot to be desired.

We were tempted by a very reasonable Groupon voucher for a single course Sunday lunch, at the Kemptons restaurant/ Lunch Box , Ely, which we booked for 09 Nov 14, when the choice of roasts was chicken or pork; we both chose the pork; it was succulent, served with potatoes & yorkshire pudding, there was a separate dish each for veg which was very fresh & varied – carrots, green beans, cauliflower & swede & the gravy came in a gravy boat, not a frequent occurrence in our recent experiences. We cannot answer regarding previous reviewers complaints, [we didn’t use the facilities] – we enjoyed our lunch , it was tastey, certainly value for money, we would recommend it & we would return, not just for lunch but everything the menu offers.The staff are all friendly, smiley & attentive enough not to intrude.

Rather a bizarre layout if you sit anywhere other than the ground floor. In parts it is like walking through someone's bedsit. There is a single lavatory and then you move to the BATHROOM next door to wash your hands. YES.... that dirty single hand-towel is still there. Amazing it has not rotted or grown feet and left the building.The sun terrace is some what neglected like many of the other areas. My Victoria sponge had a few bits of mustard and cress baked into it, but hey ho...You know this place has real potential and the staff were friendly and chatty but they need pointing in the right direction in respect of service and quality to get more repeat visitors. More attention and then a great place potentially.

Had a really nice breakfast here one rainy Saturday morning Breakfast was good and at a good price. Service was also good. Will return

A visit to Ely was spoilt by a visit to this place, we ordered 2 Baguettes with cheese and onion but what we got was what felt like 3 day old ones, my husband ate his because he was hungry but I couldn't it was awful , I complained but wasn't offered an alternative and had to pay £13 for a coffee a tea and 2 horrible baguettes. The managers attitude was she couldn't care less, she said they were fresh every morning, about time she changed her supplier I said. I wish we had looked on trip advisor before going in this place.

Found this little place, the breakfast was very good, the service excellent, only fault would be the table tops need some work doing on them, but that's just a minor thing.

the staff were very pleasant, could be a bit quicker.the food waslovely and the price was reasonable, certainly worth a vist if you are in ely.

Visited for Sunday lunch on a gift from Groupon. This was the worst meal I have had the misfortune to be presented by a "chef", we English look forward to our Sunday roast, DO NOT GO TO THIS RESTAURANT.

Firstly I wish I had read the comments on here before setting foot in the place. I echo many of the comments made by other contributors regarding the HAND TOWEL in the Toilet, the staff acting as if it was there first day, people getting up and leaving, getting orders wrong......What I will add is that when we walked in it was to hear a customer telling a waitress that the Jacket Potato she had just been served was not cooked and was cold. Should have left at this point BUT.... We were seen quite quickly by a waitress who took our order for drinks and to be fair she did ask those that wanted tea if they wanted small,medium,large or in a pot. We were then almost immediately seen by another waitress to take our order but explained politely that we were already being attended too. The place is definitely in need of some TLC looks a bit sad and drab.The food was, to say the least below standard. I ordered a cream tea for one, you know the cream tea that generally comes with clotted cream a scone (or two) and some nice Tiptree Jam and some nice butter!!! well this one came with a warmed up scone, no butter, jam that probably came from a jar of Saver Jam and to top it off (because they had no clotted cream) squirty foamy cream from a can!!!! As I was leaving I noticed a sign by the stairs that lead apparently to a sun terrace that said something like " in quiet periods(of which I presume there are many) would customers please make staff aware they are up there". Says it all. This is obviously not a customer focussed business so I would (as the song says "Walk on By".

All in all it was below par experience with poor consistency. The place looked linkeit could do with a bit of a revamp And a good clean.We ordered 2 teas which came in two seperate cups but when the table next to us ordered tea, it came in tea pots?????Also our tea was visable made poorly and weak.a squeezed tea bag prepared next too a bottle of cleaning product of some description left laying around in a food preparation area.Even if it is not harmful, which I was hoping it just looked bad.Food was acceptable but would not recommend and sadly would not return to. A Towl was hung in the toilet instead of paper towl or a hand dryer, a great way of catching something unpleasant.Not good for a food establishment.

The lunchbox used to be one of my favourite places to have lunch. Very generous sized baguettes, Nice fillings, good hot food cheap (if you took out anyway if you ate in it was much dearer however as it was a nice place it was worth it) and very friendly staff. The lunch box was very popular to many people I knew in Ely and all have voiced my opinion that they will no longer be returning. For the lunchbox part of the building there primary focus is on baguettes and sandwiches. Out of the 10 times i have been 6 of those they have ran out of baguettes, twice they had no chicken and only twice did they have everything i wanted for my sandwich. On one of those occasions I had to wait 20 minutes for my sandwich to take away after having asked the woman what was taking so long. It arrived with the wrong fillings I had to take it back 3 times before I eventually gave up and decided to just get a refund. There was another man also complaining at the same time as me and the manager didn't seem to care and just received a heartless sorry. I haven't personally been back there for hot food for a while but if they can't even make a sandwich properly I can't be bothered. I have heard from others who have gone that the service is just as awful and everyone there seems like its there first day and don't have a clue whats going on! Tried to turn it into a money maker and it lost what once everyone likes.